Thursday, October 27, 2016

This Was a Man is the captivating final instalment of the Clifton
Chronicles, a series of seven novels that has topped the bestseller
lists around the world, and enhanced Jeffrey Archer's reputation as a
master storyteller.

This Was a Man opens with a shot being fired, but who pulled the trigger, and who lives and who dies?

In
Whitehall, Giles Barrington discovers the truth about his wife Karin
from the Cabinet Secretary. Is she a spy or a pawn in a larger game?

Harry
Clifton sets out to write his magnum opus, while his wife Emma
completes her ten years as Chairman of the Bristol Royal Infirmary, and
receives an unexpected call from Margaret Thatcher offering her a job.

Sebastian
Clifton becomes chairman of Farthings Kaufman bank, but only after
Hakim Bishara has to resign for personal reasons. Sebastian and
Samantha’s talented daughter, Jessica, is expelled from the Slade School
of Fine Art, but her aunt Grace comes to her rescue.

Meanwhile,
Lady Virginia is about to flee the country to avoid her creditors when
the Duchess of Hertford dies, and she sees another opportunity to clear
her debts and finally trump the Cliftons and Barringtons.

In a
devastating twist, tragedy engulfs the Clifton family when one of them
receives a shocking diagnosis that will throw all their lives into
turmoil.

This Was a Man is the captivating final
installment of the Clifton Chronicles, a series of seven novels that has
topped the bestseller lists around the world, and enhanced Jeffrey
Archer’s reputation as a master storyteller.

The definitive biography of one of the most influential filmmakers ever--George Lucas.

On
May 25, 1977, a problem-plagued, budget-straining, independent
science-fiction film opened in a mere thirty-two American movie
theaters. Conceived, written, and directed by a little-known filmmaker
named George Lucas, the movie originally called The Star Wars
quickly drew blocks-long lines, bursting box office records, and
ushering in a new way for movies to be made, marketed, and merchandised.
It has become one of the most adored–and successful–movie franchises of
all time.

Now, the author of the bestselling biography Jim Henson
delivers a long-awaited, revelatory look into the life and times of the
man who created Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Indiana Jones.

If Star Wars
wasn’t game-changing enough, Lucas went on to establish another
blockbuster series with Indiana Jones, and he completely transformed the
world of special effects and the way movies sound. His innovation and
ambition forged Pixar and Lucasfilm, Industrial Light & Magic, and
THX sound.

Here, Lucas’s colleagues and competitors offer
tantalizing glimpses into his life. His entire career has been
stimulated by innovators including Steven Spielberg and Francis Ford
Coppola, actors such as Harrison Ford, and the very technologies that
enabled the creation of his films–and allowed him to keep tinkering with
them long after their original releases. Like his unforgettable
characters and stories, his influence is unmatched.

BOOKLIST REVIEW
Maestro biographer Jones (Jim Henson, 2013) tackles another brilliant entertainer. The world knows George Lucas as the filmmaker who brought us Star Wars,
one of the most iconic Hollywood franchises in history, but as Jones’
in-depth, fascinating, and even gripping exploration reveals, Lucas is
much more than a gifted storyteller. In fact, writing has never come
easy to the Northern California-raised Lucas, who immersed himself in
editing and directing while studying at USC. He started out making such
stand-alone films as THX-1138 and American Graffiti before
getting caught up in the idea of a grand space epic, an optimistic
fairy tale to counter the disappointment and depression bogging down
America in the 1970s. But it isn’t just Lucas’ movies that are
visionary; so, too, is his business acumen. By retaining the licensing
rights for Star Wars, he paved the way for lucrative toy deals
and maintained creative and monetary control over the sequels. With
Lucasfilm, Industrial Light & Magic, and Pixar, Lucas has created
hundreds of jobs, and his friendships with fellow auteurs Francis Ford
Coppola and Steven Spielberg led to dynamic collaborations, including
the popular Indiana Jones franchise. Jones digs deep to limn the
highs and lows of Lucas’ career and life, capturing his drive and
innovation in crisp, sparkling prose. Masterful and essential for film
and pop culture enthusiasts.— Kristine Huntley

Beware the goblin men and the wares they sell.All
her life, nineteen-year-old Liesl has heard tales of the beautiful,
mysterious Goblin King. He is the Lord of Mischief, the Ruler
Underground, and the muse around which her music is composed. Yet, as
Liesl helps shoulder the burden of running her family’s inn, her dreams
of composition and childish fancies about the Goblin King must be set
aside in favor of more practical concerns.

But when her sister
Käthe is taken by the goblins, Liesl journeys to their realm to rescue
her sister and return her to the world above. The Goblin King agrees to
let Käthe go—for a price. The life of a maiden must be given to the
land, in accordance with the old laws. A life for a life, he
says. Without sacrifice, nothing good can grow. Without death, there can
be no rebirth. In exchange for her sister’s freedom, Liesl offers her
hand in marriage to the Goblin King. He accepts.

Down in the
Underground, Liesl discovers that the Goblin King still inspires
her—musically, physically, emotionally. Yet even as her talent blossoms,
Liesl’s life is slowly fading away, the price she paid for becoming the
Goblin King’s bride. As the two of them grow closer, they must learn
just what it is they are each willing to sacrifice: her life, her music,
or the end of the world.BOOKLIST REVIEW
In nineteenth-century Bavaria, the old legends
still hold sway even as an era of enlightenment dawns. Liesl, oldest of
three, has grown up on her grandmother’s tales of goblins and beautiful
maidens, although it is Liesl’s sister, Käthe, who is the beautiful one.
For Liesl, magic is the music she composes and plays with her
violin-virtuoso brother, Josef. It’s Josef’s talents that will save the
family, as Liesl, gifted composer though she may be, is only a woman.
But when the Goblin King, austere and clever and strangely familiar,
surfaces and steals Käthe away to be his bride, Liesl travels to their
underground world to save her sister. When she comes face-to-face with
the Goblin King himself, odd, unlovely Liesl and her odd, unlovely music
are both woken in entirely new ways. But there are forces at play that
she doesn’t understand, and sacrifices to be made that she could never
imagine. There are plenty of nods to Labyrinth, but atmospherically, this first novel is most similar to another debut: Robin McKinley’s Beauty
(1978). The plot sometimes stalls, overwhelmed by the language, but
this is an exquisitely and lyrically crafted tale of longing, sibling
loyalty, and the importance of women in a time when women were so often
overlooked. Eerie, unsettling, and, above all, full of music. — Maggie Reagan

Monday, October 17, 2016

Madam President: The Secret Presidency of Edith Wilson by William Hazelgrove

After President Woodrow Wilson suffered a paralyzing stroke in the fall of 1919, his wife, First Lady Edith Wilson, began to handle the day-to-day responsibilities of the Executive Office. Mrs. Wilson had had little formal education and had only been married to President Wilson for four years; yet, in the tenuous peace following the end of World War I, Mrs. Wilson dedicated herself to managing the office of the President, reading all correspondence intended for her bedridden husband. Though her Oval Office authority was acknowledged in Washington, D.C. circles at the time--one senator called her "the Presidentress who had fulfilled the dream of suffragettes by changing her title from First Lady to Acting First Man"--her legacy as "First Woman President" is now largely forgotten.
William Hazelgrove's Madam President is a vivid, engaging portrait of the woman who became the acting President of the United States in 1919, months before women officially won the right to vote.

Praise

William Hazelgrove's riveting style lets us into the backrooms of the White House to see how a woman who had only two years formal education was able to pull it off and do it for two years! A great read and ride!
~Robin Hutton New York Times Bestselling Author of Sgt Reckless

Excerpt - Chapter One

The Cover-Up
President

Woodrow Wilson lay with his mouth drooping, unconscious, having suffered a thrombosis on October 2, 1919, that left him paralyzed on his left side and barely able to speak. The doctors believed the president’s best chance for survival was in the only known remedy for a stroke at the time: a rest cure consisting of total isolation from the world.
His wife of four years, Edith Bolling Wilson, asked how a country could function with no chief executive. Dr. Dercum, the attending physician, leaned over and gave Edith her charge: “Madam, it is a grave situation, but I think you can solve it. Have everything come to you; weigh the importance of each matter: and see if it is possible by consultation with the respective heads of the Departments to solve them without the guidance of your husband.”
From there, Edith Wilson would act as the president’s proxy and run the White House and, by extension, the country, by controlling access to the president, signing documents, pushing bills through Congress, issuing vetoes, isolating advisors, crafting State of the Union addresses, disposing of or censoring correspondence, and filling positions. She would analyze every problem and decide which ones to bring to the president’s attention and which to solve on her own through her own devices. All the while she had to keep the fact that the country was no longer being run by President Woodrow Wilson a guarded secret.

Author William Hazelgove

William Elliott Hazelgrove is the best-selling author of thirteen novels, Ripples, Tobacco Sticks, Mica Highways, Rocket Man, The Pitcher, Real Santa, Jackpine and The Pitcher 2. His books have received starred reviews in Publisher Weekly and Booklist, Book of the Month Selections, Junior Library Guild Selections, ALA Editors Choice Awards and optioned for the movies. He was the Ernest Hemingway Writer in Residence where he wrote in the attic of Ernest Hemingway's birthplace. He has written articles and reviews for USA Today and other publications. He has been the subject of interviews in NPR's All Things Considered along with features in The New York Times, LA Times, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Sun Times, Richmond Times Dispatch, USA Today, People, Channel 11, NBC, WBEZ, WGN. The Pitcher is a Junior Library Guild Selection and was chosen Book of the Year by Books and Authors. net. His next book Jackpine will be out Spring 2014 with Koehler Books. A follow up novel Real Santa will be out fall of 2014. Madam President The Secret Presidency of Edith Wilson will be out Fall 2016. Storyline optioned the movie rights. Forging a President How the West Created Teddy Roosevelt will be out May 2017.

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